Tehran, Iran, June 19
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company Alireza Kameli said Tehran held talks with 170 countries on gas export in the previous Iranian fiscal year (which ended March 20).
Regional countries are of higher priority for gas export, he said, adding that Iran is conducting business with Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, and that Iraq will be added to the group of countries importing gas from Iran soon.
Talks have also been held with the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman and the ground is being prepared to export gas to these countries, he said, IRNA news agency reported June 19.
Commenting on the prospects of gas export to Europe, he said doing so would need four thousand kilometers of pipe, requiring more time and money than needed for exporting gas to regional countries.
"However, it does not mean that we do not have an eye on the European market. We rather have a long-term perspective on that market and we are hoping to reach European markets with LNG," the official noted.
Kameli said Iran is intending to take its gas output to one billion bcm/d by 2019.
He went on to say that in the last Iranian fiscal year, Iran boosted its gas production by 120 mcm/d.
Iran's gas exports exceeded the country's gas imports by 2.5 billion cubic meters during the same period, showing a positive balance in Iran's natural gas trade with neighboring countries.
Iran has the world's largest gas reservoir of 34 trillion cubic meters.
Iran's current raw gas production level hits reportedly about 660 mcm/d. The country has developed 10 phases of the giant South Pars gas field, which share about 8 percent of total conventional global gas reserves, while phases 12, 15 and 16 are commenced with half capacity.
Edited by CN
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